I Have in My Arms Both Ways: Stories by Ten Immigrant Women

by Adrienne Jansen

Immigrant women bring to New Zealand rich experiences of lives spent in other cultures. But their stories are rarely told. In this book ten women, who have come to New Zealand through three decades from the 1960s, speak in depth about growing up in their first countries, and their lives in New Zealand.

They talk about childhood, marriage, discrimination, language, their aspirations for their children, and the role of women in their first culture and in New Zealand. They also, often poignantly, point to what they cannot speak about.

The ten women come from India, the Philippines, Tonga, Tokelau Islands, Chile, Iran, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Vietnam and Laos.

Kamla Patel, Kenya/India
Michelle Karagianis, Czechoslovakia
Novena Petelo, Tokelau Islands
Livia Escobar, Chile
Ngàn Hac Tráng, Vietnam
Valeti Finau, Tonga
Thongsy Vanvilay, Laos
Anna Reutt-Marcìszewski, Poland
Dahlia Roberts, The Philippines
Roya Jazbani, Iran

168 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1996

About the author

Jansen, Adrienne (1947 - ) writes fiction and non-fiction for both adults and children, and poetry. For many years she taught ESOL and was involved in refugee resettlement and immigration issues, and this long interest in cross-cultural experience is reflected in her writing.

Her first books were small practical publications designed to meet particular needs. Having a Baby in New Zealand (1985) was published in Samoan, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Khmer as well as English. She co-authored a second book with a practical focus, Neighbourhood Groups (1986).

Borany's Story (1991) is an account of the life of Borany Kanal, a Cambodian immigrant and co-author of the book. It was originally a series for radio broadcast by Radio New Zealand in 1989. It is a simply-written and moving first person account of a woman’s escape from the Khmer Rouge, and eventual resettling in New Zealand. The book was shortlisted for the New Zealand Library Association Non Fiction Award, and is widely used in schools.

Ten immigrant women tell their stories to Adrienne Jansen in I have in my arms both ways (1990). The title comes from one of the women, immigrant Valeti Finau: 'I have in my arms both ways. I can see my Tokelau way, it's good. I can see the palagi way, it's good. I don’t want to put one down and lift the other up... I can carry them both.' The book is one of the few accounts of immigrant women's experiences in New Zealand.

Her first novel, Spirit Writing was published in 1999. It is the story of a young woman who is drawn into what is for her a foreign world of Lao refugees and political activism, and discovers the costs of misunderstandings and misplaced idealism. '[C]aptivating, powerful and beautifully written,' writes Michael Larsen in The Evening Post, while Beryl Fletcher writes ‘it’s great to read a New Zealand novel that explores the fraught relationships that can occur between refugees and locals’ (Waikato Times).

Jansen’s second novel, Floating the Fish on Bamboo (2001), described by Sue McRae in the Evening Post as ‘a page-turner with real class, falling squarely between the arthouse and the blockbuster’, is also a story set in a multicultural community.

Both Spirit Writing and Floating the Fish on Bamboo (2001) were adapted for broadcast on Radio New Zealand. Jansen has also had short stories broadcast on Radio New Zealand, including ‘War’, highly commended in the Commonwealth Short Story competition in 2002.

Adrienne Jansen was one of four poets in the collection How Things Are (1996), where her work appeared with that of Meg Campbell, Harry Ricketts, and J.C. Sturm. Her first solo collection of poetry is a stone seat and a shadow tree (2001). She has had poems in a number of publications and in several anthologies.

In 2009, Jansen teamed up with photographer Ans Westra in The Crescent Moon: The Asian Face of Islam in New Zealand, a publication for the Asia New Zealand Foundation, intended to present a more accurate ‘snapshot’ of this largest group of Muslims in New Zealand, and to correct some stereotypes and media misrepresentation. The Crescent Moon is also a photographic exhibition touring New Zealand.

In 1993 Adrienne Jansen founded the Whitireia Polytechnic Creative Writing Programme, and was its coordinator until 1999. She now teaches fiction and editing on the programme, and has written several of its online courses. She is part of the writing team at Te Papa, New Zealand’s National Museum, and does some freelance work. She lives in Titahi Bay, Porirua.

Reviews

[Daren · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I am probably not the target audience for this book, I found it an interesting, albeit a bit dated, read. The stories of ten immigrant women (the majority are refugees of some description) who have moved from their homeland to New Zealand. They are all settled in Wellington, NZ's capital city.

The stories concentrate on their homelands, and their upbringing (often going back to their grandparents to set the scene), explain why they wanted (or needed) to leave, how they came to NZ, and then explain the challenges and differences they encountered in New Zealand. They are very honest accounts, perhaps too honest to endear themselves to some New Zealanders, as they are often critical of the differences, and the identify things that have happened to them that they didn't like. While those things are probably all true, there is an element of complaining about small things, while they are obviously infinitely better off than where they came from. Usually they acknowledge themselves that their complaints are outweighed by the benefits of coming to New Zealand and receiving support from the government (most are provided with housing and allowances etc, provided assistance in most matters).

For me the more interesting aspects were the backgrounds, which were as varied as the origins of the women who tell their stories. Kenya/India, Czechoslovakia, Tokelau, Chile, Vietnam, Tonga, Laos, Poland, The Philippines & Iran. They cross over cultural issues, politics, human rights issues, poverty, but also just limitations on education and employment (eg the Polynesian islands).

Three and a half stars, rounded down.